Railway-car



(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

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(No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2. M. A. ZURGHER.

RAILWAY UAR.

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RAILWAY GAR.

No. 401,528.. Patented Apr. ,16, 1889.

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4 Sheets-Sheet 4. M. A. ZUROHER.

RAILWAY GAR. No. 401,528. Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

UNITED STATES ATENT VFFIFCE,

MAX A. ZURCHER, OF PIIGENIXVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,528, dated April16, 1889.

' Application filed May 25, 1888. Serial No. 275,121. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MAX A. ZUROHER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Phoenixville, in the county of Chester and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railway-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the fioor frame-work of variouskinds of railway-cars, and is to a certain extent an improvement uponthe invention disclosed in my prior patent granted to me by the UnitedStates on the 5th day of June, 1888, No. 384,225that is to say, theinvention disclosed in said patent was directed solely to railwaycarframes of prismatic form, and embodied trussed frames of the peculiarconstruction therein disclosed and claimed, while the presentapplication is directed solely to trussed floor-frames, and its objectsare, first, to devise a skeleton floor-frame for a railway-car whichshall be possessed of maximum strength under stress of strains in alldirections and be at the same time of minimum lightness, theconstruction being such that it will sustain loads to be carried undervarying conditions and possess rigidity of structure against allstrains, whether due to a load, collisions, derailment, or any and allaccidents to which cars of this naturcare subject; second, to devise acar-floor frame-work of such strength that it will divide the strainsdue to the load as nearly possible between the two sets of trucks, andthis particularly when the load is concentrated upon the car; third, toprovide such a fioor frame-work as will adapt a car for carrying theloads in the nature of long pieces of n'iaterial, which ordinarilyrequire two or more coupled ears; fourth, to provide a car-floor of sucha shape and construction properly supported and trussed that it willconstitute in itself a receptacle for grain and other material in bulkwhich by its peculiar inherent coi'istruction in the nature of aninclined or curved floor will materially aid in the unloadingof suchmaterial when so shipped in bulk. I accomplish these objects by thestatically-constructed car-floor frame hereinafter described, butparticularly pointed out in the claims which follow this specification.

My invention will be fully understood by referring to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like letters of reference wheresoever used representlike part Figures 1 and 2 are side elevations of half of a trussed framesupporting a car-floor. Figs. 3 and 4 are plan views of half thetrussing of the lower faces of Figs. 1 and 2. Figs. 5 and (i are planviews of half of the trussing of the upper faces of Figs. 1 and 2. Figs.7 to ll, inclusive, are side elevations of moditied forms of half of theinterior longitudinal trusses which are located between the side trussesshown in Figs. 1 and 2. Figs. 15 to 25, inclusive, are cross-sectionalviews taken through the several views shown in Figs. 1. to

1. inclusive, and showing several modified forms of lateral ortransverse tie-trusses and struts. Figs. 20 and 27 are end views ofmodified forms of the ends cf the floor-frame body. Fig. 28 is a sideelevational view of a modified form of trussed car-floor frame havingdownwardlyextending body and ends.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, A represents an improvedcar-floor frame of metal or any analogous material which possesses therequired strength.

B B represent the side or exterior longitudinal trusses of the ear-floorframe statically constructed, each composed of a top chord, s, and abottom chord, s, with vertical web posts or struts .9 which alsogenerally serve as connections for the transverse vibration ortie-trusses 'r. I also provide diagonal web members s" throughout thewhole length of the truss, their intersections, if any, being connectedeither with or without the plates s.

In some cases it might be deemed advisable to omit any or all of thevertical web-posts or any of the web members may form any angle with ahorizontal line.

In Fig. 1 I have shown the truss B with a straightlower chord, s,and acurved top chord, s, the greatest girder depth at or near the center ofthe car, while in Fig. 2 I have shown these chords reversed; but bothchords may be curved or expanded, or both may be parallel orequidistant. lhe contour of any of these specially-shaped chords may bethat of any single or compound curve, or a substitution thereof ofstraight lines connected together at various angles to give any requiredhorizontal beam work.

contour or any combination of curves or lines into any one chord. Any ofthese above-specified chords may be used and combined in any of thevarious girders of the'car-body. Instead of the open skeleton web, aplate-web may be substituted throughout the entire length of any of thegirders or through any fractional portion of said length, as clearlyshown at to, Figs. 7 to 14-, inclusive.

To still further increase the rigidity of the two trusses B, I increasetheir depth at the body-bolsters by extending them downward, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, and placing them far enough apart that each is outside ofthe clear workings of the trucks.

Figs. 7 to 14, inclusive, represent the interior longitudinal girders,r, and they are similar in construction to girders B. Any of thesegirders 1" may be substituted wholly or partly for the girders B, orvice versa, or may onlyextend back from each end part of the way, or maybe wholly omitted.

In Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive, I have shown these longitudinal interiortrusses, 9", one or more in number, in connection with the exteriorlongitudinal trusses, B, all rigidly con- 11 ected together by one ormore interior transverse-vibration girders and struts, r, similarlyconstructed, they being of the greatest possible permissible uniform orvariable depth at the various points where they are located. Whenforming the body, bolsters '1' may be of increased strength, or may be atwin or box girder. The end trusses, E, are also statically constructedthe same as B, r, and 1* above, and the same modifications may also beused. I have shown these end trusses in Fig. 26 as having a curved topchord, c, and horizontal bottom chord, c, and in Fig. 27 both chords arecurved.

Any. or all of the top chords of the various trusses may extend abovethe floor-level Figs. 1 and 2; but they may be level with it, Figs. '7to 14, inclusive, or below the same for the whole length or any part ofthe car-body length. The inclined floors of cars now ordinarilyconstructed are blocked up with extra materials to proper inclinationson a I avoid this and shape or construct my girders both longitudinallyand transversely to support the inclined floors, which are directly laidon the trusses, thereby increasing the strength and at the same timediminishing the weight of the structure.

To increase the strength of the various girders B, r, r, and E, allrigidly and integrally connected together, I use a longitudinalstatically-constructed floor truss or trusses, C, Figs. 5 and G, in orat the floor-level, having the girders 'r as web-posts, and webdiagonals r or r, or both, all rigidly connected to the girders B, thelatter forming the chords thereof, and they may also be connected withany or all of the girders 1'. One or more of the several webconstructions shown in both Figs. 5 and 6 maybe used either singly orcombined. This floor-trussing 0 may also consist of two or more staticaltrusses all rigidly and integrally connected together to serve as onetruss, wherein the side trusses, B, and girders 0 form their chords, thegirders 0' their web-posts, and 0 their web diagonals. (See Fig. 5.)Should its central space not be trussed with diagonal members, which maybe the case, 7' must act as a girder in a longitudinal direction to takeup the web shear. These trusses G, which are transverse to the car-body,may lie in one plane, and they are shown as situated horizontal in Figs.15 to 21, inclusive, or they may lie in two or more connecting-planesplaced at various angles, or they may be curved convex or concaveinstead. (See Figs. 22 to 25, inclusive.)

The floor and its trusses .O are horizontal in a longitudinal direction,(Figs. 7, 8, and S), while in Fig. 10 they are inclined toward thecenter of the car. The same is true for the part between the trucks ofFigs. 11 and 12, while from each truckthey incline downward at the end(see Fig. 11) and are horizontal, as shown in Fig. 12.

In Figs. 10,11, and 12, II represents a horizontal line to show moreclearly the inclinations of the trusses.

In Figs. 13 and 14 the floor is curved convex; but it may follow theshape of any of the herein-described top chords of the longitudinaltrusses B and r, as well as those of the girders '1", under allconditions.

Along some or all of the bottom chords of the girders B, r, and r, I usesimilarly static ally-constructed longitudinal truss or trusses D, Figs.3 and 4, they being transversely horizontahFigs. 16,17, 19, and 21 to25, inclusive, and the same for the one-half of Fig. 18; but the latterhas no direct connection with girder r. Fig. 20 shows two adjacentinclined longitudinal trusses, D, having in common the bottom chord ofgirder 1, While the outer chords also form the bottom chords of girdersB. Fig. 15 and the one-half of Fig. 18 show three adjoiningstatically-constructed longitudinal trusses, D, with common coincidingchords for adjacent trusses. Any of the web constructions shown in Figs.3 and 4t or Figs. 5 and (J, and as described for the trusses C, may beused singly or any or all combined.

The platforms G (shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive) are extensions of thegirders B and r, or a part of either of them, and additional girders,or, may be used, as shown, to give the platforms additional resistance,and any other additional parts, I, may be added, if desired, which willincrease the strength of the structure. At the extreme ends of theplatform I construct girders or beams g, which may be curved to allowfor the movement of the cars around curves. To give these platformsadditional strength and to enable the cars to resist the strains due tocollision or derailment, I construct at their extreme ends adownwardly-projecting trussed body, 72, Figs. 7, S, and 20, of variousdesigns, being IIO oness. 3

externally trussed and braced in a transverse and longitudinaldirection, which may be also internally braced in either direction,singly or combined.

The floor-covering may be of wood, or it An examination of the varioustrussings,

bracings, counterbracings, and of the various forms of web members andgirders shown in the several figures of the drawings will be obvious toany one skilled in the art of trussed devices, and it will be understoodthat I desire that the scope of the claims which follow thisspecification shall be broad enough in their nature to include allcombinations of trusses which may be connected together so as toconstitute a statically trussed floorframe for a railway-car, it beingunderstood that I claim to be the first to devise such an arrangement oftrussing for the purposes herein indicated.

I construct the individual members of the various girders in such amanner as to be absolutely rigid, and by this term rigid I desire it tobe understood that said parts are so constructed as to resist nearly orequal intensity of compression and tensile strains as of such materialsas posse: s great strength such as wrought-iron of great ductility, andof such steel or other metals as have similar characteristics or stillgreater strength and by making all of their connections and parts rigidand non-adjustable. I use for these various members of metal beams,channels, angles, ties, and other special shapes, as well as bars,plates, or any combination of shapes in the forming of any oneindividual member, as any one skilled in the art will understand. Thesevarious members are connected together rigidly in the same manner as isdis closed in my patent above referred to.

I am aware that it is old in bridge construc tion to combine verticallongitudinal side trusses which are adapted to carry a maximum verticalload with lateral and vibratory braces of such a nature as to resistside strains due to the wind solely; but I am not aware that anycombination of such trusses has been devised for resisting strains inall directions, as there would be no necessity for such a constructionin bridges. It is the especial function of my invention to be of suchuniversal strength in the lateral top and bottom trusses and other partsas to withstand maximum strains when exerted in all possibledirectionssuch, for instance, as are due to the load carried by theframe itself during transportation, or such as would result in an actualdestruction of the car on overturning, or a similar effect due tocollisions, or as will give increased tensile and compressive strengthto the car-frame as a whole, thereby permitting a greater number ofcars, either loaded or empty, to be drawn without danger of accident.

I am aware that it is old to support a railway-car floor by supportingmembers each consisting of two or more longitudinal members placed oneabove the other, mainly or partly connected together by frictionalclamping-pieces, and not having a properly-constructed web, while all myconnect-ions are of the most positive kind, as is fully explained.Besides, this construction is often additionally hog-chained, as abovedescribed.

I am aware that a trussed structure has been devised for carrying heavyartillery, which structure was supported upon a great number of trucksand upon two parallel lines of rails; but such structure was not bracedlaterally between the vertical trusses of each track, nor was thisstructure trussed so as to form a statically-trussed body; nor would itin any sense perform the functions for which my improved car-floor frameis-devised.

I am also aware that it is old to support a railway car floor by trussedor hog-chained vertical beams having adjustable trussed rods solelydesigned to take up the tension, the beam itself having a solid or plateweb and pa allel flanges, or said beam being composed of alattiee-girder in general outline with parallel flanges; but. suchconstruction does not possess the peculiarities claimed for my improvedcar-floor frame.

I am also aware that it is old to construct cars with false floors whichare inclined lengthwise from the ends toward the center, or such as areinclined transversely and being lowest at the center, or both of suchforms'combined. It is also old to construct cars having hipped floorsformed of two planes, the highest portion being lengthwise of the cars.

Having thus d eseribed my invent-ion, what I claim, and desire to secureby letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A statically constructed floor framework for a railway-car,consisting of two or more vertical longitudinal girders, all of theindividual members and details of which are rigid and non-adjustable,each having a top and bottom chord and web members throughout, saidparts being integrally connected together at or near their tops andbottoms by longitudinal lateral tie-trusses of similar constructions,substantially as described.

2. A statically constructed floor framework for a railway-car,consisting of two or more vertical longitudinal girders connectedtogether at or near their tops and bottoms by longitudinal trussesadapted to resist lateral strains, in combination with one or moretransversevibration or tie trusses, having its greatest permissibledepth at each location,

ITO

and all of said trusses integrally connected together in such manner asto be rigid and non-adj ustable, substantially as described.

3. A staticallyconstructed railwaycar floor-frame consisting of thecombination of the rigid non-adjustable side trusses, B, having top andbottom chords and Web members throughout, and one or more transverse tieor vibration trusses or girders, r, similarly constructed, both of saidsets of girders having common struts and connecting members 5substantially as described.

4. A statically-constructed car-floor frame consisting of side, top, andbottom girders, all of the members and details of which are continuous,rigid, and non-adjustable, the Whole being so arranged that thelongitudinal top truss or trusses form the support of the car-floor,substantially as described.

5. A trussed floor-frame for a railway-car, consisting of substantiallyvertical longitudinal trusses having inclined top chords on which thefloor rests, substantially as described.

6. A trussed floor-frame for a railway-car, consistin of substantiallyvertical longitudinal exterior and interior trusses having inclined topchords on which the floor rests, substantially as described.

7. A trussed floor-frame for a railway-car, consisting of substantiallyvertical longitudinal trusses the top chords of which are inclined tocarry the floor, in combination with lateral transverse bracing trusses,the whole being integrally connected together, substantially-asdescribed.

8. A railway-car floor-frame consisting of longitudinal girders ortrusses united by a longitudinal top truss or girder and lateraltransverse bracing or tie trusses or girders, all of said trusses beingconstructed and connected together to resist strains in all directions,substantially as described.

9. A railway-car floor-frame consisting of longitudinal girders ortrusses united by a longitudinal bottom truss or girder and lateraltransverse bracing or tie trusses or girders, all of said trusses beingconstructed and connected together to resist strains in all directions,substantially as described.

MAX A. ZURCIIER.

Witnesses:

(7. J. KINTNER, J. F. QUINN.

